Portland

Driver of propane truck dies when vehicle rolls over him

The driver of a propane truck was killed Friday when his truck rolled over him in a parking lot.

Police are withholding the name of the driver until his family is notified.

Police said the driver was under the truck, owned by Pitstop Fuels of Standish, when it rolled forward, pinning him underneath around 2 p.m. in the parking lot of The Home Depot on Riverside Street.

The truck didn’t leak propane, police said, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified.

Alfred

Two suspects face charges for courthouse bomb threat

York County sheriff’s deputies charged two men with terrorizing in connection with a Feb. 10 bomb threat at the York County Courthouse.

Deputies charged Bert Stroud, 27, of Saco, and Gilbert Perez, 30, of Acton in connection with the threat, which led to the evacuation of the building and cancellation of court that day.

Chief Deputy William King said Stroud called in the bomb threat in exchange for heroin from Perez. Perez allegedly orchestrated the crime because he was due to be sentenced for an assault that occurred in Lebanon.

Sheriff’s investigators worked with judicial marshals and the Maine State Police to track down the owner of the cellphone that was used to make the threat.

Detective Bill Vachon, who led the investigation for the sheriff’s office, said the probe started by looking at who was due in court that day. The agency worked with state police cellular technology experts to track the ownership of the phone.

The cost of the threat in terms of emergency responders and lost work time was estimated at more than $25,000, King said.

Kennebunk

Police searching for man who left notes in mailboxes

Police are looking for a man who left handwritten notes in two mailboxes on Ross Road that were signed “pervert.”

Lt. Dan Jones said police believe the letters were hand-delivered Tuesday evening by a man who was on foot. Video footage from one of the homeowners shows a middle-age man with curly hair and possibly a beard stop at one of the mailboxes.

One of the notes read: “I will not stay away from your kids. Your friend, pervert.”

Jones said police believe the mailboxes were picked at random. Officers have canvassed the neighborhood to inform residents and to ask them to be vigilant. Anyone with information can contact Kennebunk police at 985-6121.

Cumberland

Voters asked to approve school spending increase

Voters in Cumberland and North Yarmouth on Tuesday will consider a 4.3 percent spending increase for School Administrative District 51 for the coming year.

On Thursday, residents of the two towns overwhelmingly approved the proposed $32.6 million school budget by a 57-6 public vote held at Greely High School, according to Cumberland Town Manager Bill Shane.

Tuesday’s referendum will ask voters to approve a school budget proposal that’s $1.3 million higher than the current $31.3 million spending plan, according to budget documents. The increase covers a variety of additional spending for technology upgrades, curriculum changes and charter school tuition.

Brunswick

Local residents consider $35.6 million school budget

Brunswick voters will decide whether to approve a $35.6 million school budget Tuesday.

The Town Council voted on May 29 to adopt a combined municipal and school budget with expenditures of slightly more than $58 million. Brunswick taxpayers will be responsible for $36.5 million of that total after accounting for other revenue sources, state aid and transfers from other accounts.

Brunswick property owners would see a tax increase of 3.5 percent under the combined municipal and school budget. Council members trimmed other areas of the budget in order to hold the tax rate hike below 4 percent in the face of rising education costs and shrinking state support.

– From staff reports

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